Curating and Project Direction

File/Life was organized as a multi-year project by The Institute on Disabilities, Temple University, College of Education and Human Development. It debuted as a public installation at the Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia during April 2023. Its re-presentation at Helix Gallery was supported by Thomas Jefferson University. My only role in this project was to serve as its host at TJU.

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About File/Life:

Over nearly eight decades, more than 10,000 people lived at the Pennhurst State School and Hospital, an institution for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities operated by the state of Pennsylvania from 1908 to 1987. When it opened, Pennhurst was considered a model facility. When it closed, it was because Pennhurst violated the human rights of the people living there.

File/Life is a community-led creative exploration of the Pennhurst archives by seven archivists, all people with disabilities and/or family members, including two former Pennhurst residents. These community archivists collaborated with a team of multi-disciplinary artists to share stories that made them listen, feel, imagine, and remember. In doing so, they asked the question: “Can a file ever contain a life?”

To learn more, please visit: Temple University, Institute on Disabilities.